GoGoGear Gears up StopTech Hyundai Genesis for 2011

Did you happen to catch the GoGoGear Hyundai Genesis Coupe at SEMA 2010 featuring StopTech brakes? It was quite the head turner after its unveiling in the Genesis booth.  Here is a very short video of the exterior and interior...

The car caught the attention of many magazines and websites such as Road and Track, Car and Driver, Motor Trend, Yahoo, and Forbes. This high performance racing competitor is powered by the standard 3.8 liter V6 engine that has been upgraded to output 330 hp and 280 lb. ft. of torque. to get the extra power.

So what's the plan for 2011? Ali Arsham, owner of GoGoGear racing has big plans. " Now that the SEMA show has ended, it does not mean that it is time to relax," he notes. The Gogogear Hyundai Genesis Coupe featuring StopTech brakes will next go to the San Jose International Auto Show on January 6-9, 2011. After that, the team will start to prepare for the season opener of the Nitto Tires United States Touring Car Championship.

You can bet we'll keep an eye on this car when the 2011 season starts.

JC Meynet Champions and Sets Track Record in 2010

It's been a helluva year for JC Meynet and AQ Motorsports in the 2010 Time Attack Series, especially at the SuperLap Battle at Buttonwillow Raceway Park.  JC (real name Jean-Charles) races on StopTech brakes.  Here is recap of the year from his newsletter...

*  *  *

In the world of car racing, F1 has Monte Carlo, Nascar has Daytona, Indycar has Indianapolis, and Time Attack has Superlap Battle at Buttonwillow Raceway Park. Every November for the past six years Buttonwillow has been the place to be in the world of Time Attack racing. Teams from all over the USA and even overseas are invited to come race this event in order to settle the age old debate of who has the fastest Time Attack car/team/driver in the world. The classes are broken down into Unlimited, Limited (Modified), and Street classes and then further broken down by driveline configuration (front, rear, or all-wheel-drive). The goal of Time Attack is to crank out the fastest lap on an open track without strategic considerations other than simply going as fast as possible over a single timed lap (much like F1 qualifying or Drag Racing with turns thrown in). Superlap Battle Time Attack cars are the fastest production based cars in the world and do so on street legal tires.

With many wins, track records, and several championships to our credit, JC Meynet and team fully recognize the need to be successful at Superlap Battle as a win here makes a huge statement and carries a lot of momentum into the off-season. Although we were undefeated in the Redline 2008 Street Class National Championship, we came up a little short that year at Superlap Battle with our only loss of the season (3rd place) even though we still lapped under the previous record. 2009 saw us in Limited (Modified) class and in spite of a very successful season and again lapping under the existing track record, we again only managed another 3rd place due to the heavy competition. On a side note, we did win last year's Limited RWD class in the AQ/Novak Honda S2000.

This year, we really had our game faces on while contending many hurdles and controversies. We are happy to come away with not only a class win but also a new all time track record for the Limited/Modified class, besting the old Superlap Battle record by about 1.5 seconds, a relative eternity in the world of road racing. Our race this year went off without many hitches thanks to the intensive preparation and hard work from our team and sponsors. We did our usual practice sessions and adjustments to get some recent changes working properly and then managed to nail our opening lap with a Championship/record winning 1:48.5 lap time around Buttonwillow's 2.5 mile track (the usual 13CW configuration). For reference, our lap time puts us in 4th overall for this event against all the Unlimited class cars (on slicks) and would have been 2nd overall behind the legendary HKS Cyber Evo car just two years ago. We would have been the flat out overall winners just 4 years ago (and this is with our car being completely Ltd/Mod class legal on full treaded tires, not slicks!). The art of Time Attack has really come a long way in recent years and we are proud to be one of the cutting edge teams. Our stiff competition this year included several high dollar teams, former Time Attack champions/record holders, Grand Am Champions/competitors, and some grassroots teams like ourselves who are doing a lot with very limited budgets. It's exciting to note that the Unlimited, Limited, and Street classes all had their records smashed this year as well as some of the subclasses. It's exciting to be part of this ambitious group of successful racers.

As a bonus to the Superlap Battle competition, JC was invited to drive EDO Performance's black 2010 Subaru STI in the Subaru v Mitsubishi Modified Magazine Shootout. Although the car was set up similar to an Enthisiast class car, JC was able to click off some decent lap times (2:02, good for 2nd place in class at the last Enthusiast class Time Attack race held at this track) that helped the Subarus collectively win the overall over the Mitsubishis. Always fun to do these special feature events. A special thanks to EDO/Tomioka Racing/M7Japan for covering our entry fee for Superlap Battle this year.

Our decisive and undisputed win and record at Superlap Battle this year represents more than just a single fast lap, that was the easy part. The hard parts this year had more to do with our own relentless pursuit to be faster yet more reliable while also contending with yet another new organization incorporating an ever changing and self serving agenda (what doesn't kill us just makes us stronger!). Fortunately, we still have many excellent places to compete in Time Attack competition such as Superlap Battle, Speedventures, UMS, GTA, GTGP, NASA, and others as well as some select magazine events.

We will definitely enjoy the fruits of our labor with this Superlap Battle win/record. However, the off season is only about 4 months long and next year will come faster than ever. Time Attack is about setting records and then working hard to beat them, even if it's our own record we are often targeting. At nearly 700whp (about 800HP at the engine) we are close to our horsepower target but at almost 3000lbs, we definitely need to lose some weight. Another important area that will be improved on is our already decent aerodynamics that can always be better. As one of the premier benchmark teams in Time Attack competition, we plan on continuing our winning ways, developing an even more competitive race program, and doing so while maintaining the highest levels of integrity in all areas.

2010 record: 2 Championships (Superlap Battle and SpeedVentures), 7 wins, 7 records, 1 DNF.

Career record since 2007: 37 class wins, 33 track records, 4 championships, over 90% win record for 4 years (best in TA), Fastest Subaru in 41 of 44 races (100% fastest in class), always raced legally....

Tuner Motorsport Celebrates Fantastic 2010 Race Season on StopTech Brakes

As the 2010 racing season draws to a close, we find ourselves with a long line of StopTech-equipped race teams to congratulate. Earlier in the week we threw a shout out to Compass360 Racing but today we focus on Turner Motorsport.

Turner Motorsport has once again had a record-setting year. This month the team competed in the final race of 2010 at Miller Motorsports Park in Utah. Turner Motorsport drivers Joey Hand and Michael Marsal drove the #97 Turner BMW M3 to yet another podium finish.

The new V8 powered Turner Motorsport M3 running on StopTech brakes has proven itself in Grand Am Racing with two First place wins, one Second place, and four Third place finishes, making for a stellar 2010 season. The team's 7 podium finishes, including a 5-race podium streak spanning Homestead to Watkins Glen, also handed BMW the 2010 manufacturers championship.

The impressive season results earned the TMS team in Second Place in Team championship out of over 30 teams and drivers Joey Hand and Michael Marsal finished Second in the GS Driver's Championship, piloting the #97 Turner BMW M3.

The 2011 Grand Am Racing season starts January 27-28, with the GRAND-AM 200 at Daytona International Speedway, in Daytona Beach, Florida.

Compass360 Takes the Grand-Am Season Championships with Honda Civic Si on StopTech and Power Slot brakes

Congrats are in order once again for Compass360 Racing. After a great run all season long as part of Team StopTech, Compass360 Racing secured their second straight Grand-Am Championship in one of the most dramatic season finales in Grand-Am series' history.

Lawson Aschenbach and David Thilenius, co-drivers of the Compass360 Racing #74 Honda Civic Si, started the race at Miller Motorsports Park in Utah 19 points behind in the championship, but ended up standing atop the standings two-and-a-half hours later, capping off an exciting season of racing for Compass360. The Compass360 Racing competition Honda Civic Si racecars made a switch over to rear StopTech Street Performance Brake Pads at the top of this stellar season and also run on Power Slot Power Alloy brake rotors.

As the checkered flag flew, with #74 on the podium in third, the championship battle was a tie: two teams had 274 points. With two wins and two second-place finishes each, it came down to third-place finishes. That made the team's just completed third place finish the final boost to the top of the championship.

This is Compass360 Racing's second Driver and Team championship in a row. For the third time in the last four seasons, C360R delivered Honda (or Acura) the Manufacturer's Championship.

 

James Sofronas: One Driver, Two Weekends, Four Podiums

Congratulations are in order for James Sofronas for pulling out all the stops in Virginia last weekend as part of the 2010 SCCA World Challenge Series. For the second time this season, he landed dual podium visits in the same weekend on StopTech brakes for GMG Racing and Team StopTech.

His first two-fer was just last month at Mid-Ohio when he landed first and second during the two race weekend. This time he pulled in both second and third at the Virginia International Raceway in his No. 14 Global Motorsports Group Porsche 911 GT3 featuring StopTech Trophy brakes.

Sofronas battled hard for his second place finish on Saturday after pulling away with the starting pack. Andy Pilgrim gapped Sofronas early, but by lap 13 that gap began to shrink. By lap 17, the two were running nose-to-tail. A brake-fueled pass in Turn One assured him a second place finish with Pilgrim left behind and earned him the Clean Pass of the Race award.

Sunday's third place visit to the podium was well-earned. A rough start had him ninth place by the second lap. One notable move on his quest for the podium was his pass of  Jason Daskalos in the No. 5 Daskalos Developments Dodge Viper for fifth position in Turn Two on lap 12 which earned him the Move of the Race.

"I started picking off guys and then I’d make a mistake and fall back," admitted Sofronas. "I think I passed seven cars…twice. The car was more than capable but I was just not driving in my limits. I’m pretty lucky to finish third. It’s a testament to this GMG team and the Porsche.”

The last round of the 2010 season takes place on October 1-3 at the Utah Grand Prix.

Team StopTech Goes Canadian with Fastco Motorsports Hyundai Tiburon racecars

Team StopTech has a division north of the border now that Fastco Motorsports is running with StopTech in the Castrol Canadian Touring Car Championship.  The series has a pair of classes, and the Super Touring class allows for brake upgrades. 

Fastco Motorsports has fielded a trio of 2008 Hyundai Tiburon V6 racers for two drivers in the 2010 season.  That would be father and son racers Glenn and Lee Chaplin. They go toe to toe with a field chock full of BMWs.  The brakes of choice this season for Fastco are StopTech Big Brake Kits featuring 328x28 patented AeroRotors with Aerohats and clamped by patented ST-40 for piston calipers.

The season has made it through Round Five already with the next round later this month.  The feedback from Lee in the drivers seat is that they could pretty much outbrake everybody at 125mph down to 40 mph.

You catch a taste of the series with this snazzy video recap of Round Three featuring Glenn and Lee Chaplin...

Tune In Alert: Long Beach race rebroadcast

Did you miss the broadcast of the SCCA World Challenge from Long Beach this weekend? 

First, you should start following us on Twitter or Facebook so that does not happen again. 

Second, you still have another chance to see StopTech CEO Dino Crescentini's amazing race when VERSUS shows it again on Wednesday, May 5th, 2010 at 4pm Eastern.

Here is a little teaser at what went on behind the scenes at this great race...

Photos from 2010 Grand Prix of Long Beach weekend

It was a great weekend for StopTech down at the 2010 Long Beach Grand Prix as the company's CEO, Dino Cresentinti turned in a stellar driving performance that landed him on top of the SCCA 2010 GT Driver Championship standings.  Here are some behind the scenes shots from the festival of racing courtesy of Danger Dave...

This was a weekend for true racing fans

The weekend kicked off with a little daredevil action in the skies.

Skateboarding legend Tony Hawk prepares for the Celebrity/Pro race featuring identical StopTech-equipped Toyota Scions for all drivers.

StopTech does not make brakes for Indy Cars but they were still on the track.

The pacecars for the Indy races, including this nifty Lexus, sported StopTech brakes...

...so did the Indy rescue vehicles. These cars and trucks need to whip around the streets of Long Beach at near race speeds. 

Dino gives the thumbs up before heading out to the track for the SCCA race after winning the prior round in March...

...he does not come back empty handed!

You can catch some more photos on The StopTech Blog.

Another Weekend, Another Podium for Team StopTech

Team StopTech's 2010 "Podium or Pole Position" season continued on a brisk pace this weekend with Turner Motorsport bringing the tally up to 5. Their StopTech-equipped #97 BMW M3 Coupe finished the Barber 200 at the Barber Motorsport Park in Birmingham, Alabama, in third place last weekend. The race was the latest stop in the GRAND-AM Sports Car Challenge Series.

Drivers Joey Hand and Michael Marsal piloted around the 2.3 mile course with 17 turns at an average speed of 69.785 and completed the race in just over 1:38.

Team StopTech Drives to Twenty-Five in 2009

It turned out to be a truly stellar “Podium or Pole Position” year for Team StopTech2009, which consisted of the select production based race cars from the Tri-Point Motorsports, GMG Racing and Turner Motorsport teams competing on StopTech performance brakes in the Grand-Am Koni Sports Car Challenge Series and the SCCA Pro Racing SPEED World Challenge Series.

The stated goal of the season for Team StopTech, as put forth by StopTech CEO Dino Crescentini who also drives for GMG Racing, had been to accumulate at least 20 combined visits to the podium or pole-position earning qualifiers. Crescentini brought in number 20 by himself when he earned his way to the podium at the Road America Grand Prix. By the end of that mid-august weekend, Team StopTech was up to 22.

A pair of podium visits from Turner Motorsport at the Salt Lake City 200 stop of the KONI Grand Am challenge joined up with GMG Racing’s James Sofronas taking the SCCA SPEED GT season finale at Laguna Seca to ratchet the final 2009 tally to 25 for Team StopTech.

“It has been a fun and remarkable season,” noted Crescentini upon returning to Southern California after the final race. “I think most of us are already thinking about 2010.”

Can Team StopTech match this year’s incredible successes next time around? Stay tuned in 2010.

Team StopTech: Euro Edition

We just got word that StopTech’s Trophy Brake System scored its first race victory across the pond, at least that we know of. Euro-tuners Raeder Motorsport is reporting a very successful weekend with their StopTech Trophy-equipped Audi A3. Where? Nurburgring of course. More specifically, on the long VLN Nurburgring track which is the Nordschleife plus the GP circuit.

The first success came on Friday when the A3 set the VLN lap record for a front-wheel drive car. During the training session, Christoph Breuer piloted the A3 through the 24.43 km track with a StopTech STR kit installed in only 8:56.487.

At the next day’s VLN race, the StopTech-equipped A3 took the turns to victory in its class. For those of you looking for a quick German or racing history lesson, VLN stands for Veranstaltergemeinschaft Langstreckenpokal Nurburgring and this Wikipedia link should help.

...and Dino makes 5: Team StopTech Tally Soars

Team StopTech has surged in the last few days, with five more "podium or pole position" achievements over three races on two tracks.

Four of those came from the SCCA SPEED World Challenge, where the Road America Grand Prix (coincidentally presented by StopTech) served as Round 8 of the 2009 season. Stoptech CEO Dino Crescentini made it to the podium along with Charles Espenlaub of Tri-Point Motorsports, who also served up a top qualifying time along with James Sofronas of GMG Racing. (read release)

A whole country (sort of) away, Turner Motorsport was taking the checkered flag with tag-team drivers Matt Bell and Don Salama. Sure it's two drivers but it only counts as one victory for Team StopTech.

Here's a two minute recap. The yellow (some say "gold") beemer in front for most scenes is our boys charging to victory...



That puts the season total to 22, with a long break before we see the last few races of the season.

Is 25 in range?

Closeup: StopTech CEO's Watkins Glen Victory

You may already know that Dino Crescentini, CEO of Centric Parts/StopTech, took first place at round 5 of the SCCA SPEED GT World Challenge series at Watkins Glen from the official press release. It was a, metaphorically speaking, long road for Crescentini to this, his second career SCCA victory.

A crash during the practice rounds back at the Long Beach Grand Prix took his car out of the running for a few rounds. This was the same car that that opened the SCCA season with a top qualifying time back in Sebring. Up until 4 weeks before the race it was a bare chassis. The crew at GMG Racing gets huge props for knocking the ride back into such great shape that it lands in the winner’s circle, pretty much picking up where it left off.

Here is a one minute clip of Dino’s interview with SPEED Channel moments after winning…



Starting second in his Porsche 911 GT3, Crescentini got the jump on first starting Jason Daskalos’ Dodge Viper, but not as good as teammate Sofronas, who moved his Global Motorsports Group Porsche 911 GT3 to the lead from third on the grid.

Sofronas led Crescentini for the opening four laps before Crescentini put his No. 4 car out front on lap five, out-braking his teammate going into the Inner Loop. That move that earned him the AutoWeek Move of the Race and the victory as he gradually pulled away as Curran and Sofronas traded second place, turning the Fastest Lap of the race with a 1:55.347 (106.114 mph).

It was Crescentini’s second-career win, and came a day after his 49th birthday. He last won a World Challenge GT race at Portland International Raceway for his debut season in 2005.

“I have to credit GMG and especially Steve Ruiz,” said Crescentini, referring the StopTech’s and GMG Racing Team head engineer. “The car has been perfect every time he works on it! He was everything to me. He gave me the car and all I had to do was drive it.””

“Now that was a fun race, running with Dino and Curran, two great drivers, this is what World Challenge racing is all about,” beamed co-teammate and GMG owner James Sofronas. “I had a great start and jumped into the lead for the first 4 laps but I could see Dino had a little stronger car.”

The race will be broadcast Tuesday, July 22 at 2 p.m. (EDT). The SCCA Pro Racing SPEED World Challenge GT Championship next travels to Autobahn Country Club for Round Seven, July 24-26, 2009.

Harman Motive sets The Record Straight at Willow Springs

posted by The Brake Room staff

Harman Motive raised the bar over the weekend with the record-setting performance of their StopTech-equipped 2006 Subaru STi at the Redline Time Attack at Willow Springs International Raceway. Sporting StopTech's new Trophy BBKs they managed a 1:26.417 in the Modified Class, AWD Division and set a record for both.

You can read the press release here but we found a video recap of the team's weekend on vimeo...

Check it out!

May Madness for Team StopTech

posted by The Brake Room staff

While we were focusing on all the fun at this year’s grueling 5,000 mile One Lap of America, where the Active Autowerke BMW E46 M3 claimed third place overall and first place in its class AND Team Iron Butt placed 8th overall with their Audi S4, Team StopTech dialed in an incredible month of May.

Jason Saini rolls into June with the Drivers Championship point lead thanks to a pair of May podium visits on the SCCA Pro Racing SPEED World Challenge Touring Car series. The month started with a first place finish at round three in New Jersey in his Tri-Point Motorsports’ StopTech MAZDA6. He was back on the podium by the end of the month with a third place finish during round four at Mosport International Raceway. Saini’s was joined on the podium at Mosport by Charles Espenlaub, who finished second in his Tri-Point MAZDA6 on StopTechs.

Turner Motorsport stepped up during May and made history as the first E90 chassis BMW to win in Grand Am racing. In only its fourth racing appearance ever, the Turner Motorsport ST class BMW E90 328i with StopTechs piloted by driving team Don Salama and Will Turner claimed the checkered flag at Round 4 of the Grand-Am KONI Challenge at Laguna Seca Raceway. The team got a leg up after Salama earned a pole position start during the qualifier.

Next for Turner Motorsport was round 5 where the driving team of Matt Bell and Bill Auberlen took their StopTech-equipped BMW for a spin, literally, and still managed a third place finish at the 2009 Lime Rock Park Road Racing Classic.

It may be hard to believe but we are almost halfway through the racing season already. The Brake Room wishes Team StopTech good luck as we roll into the summer. Team StopTech, which is itself not an actual race team, consists of the select production based race cars from the Tri-Point Motorsports, GMG Racing and Turner Motorsport teams competing on StopTech performance brakes in the Grand-Am Koni Sports Car Challenge Series and the SCCA Pro Racing SPEED World Challenge Series.

One Lap of America 2009 - A Closer Look

posted by The Brake Room staff

If you have been over to the Centric Parts site you might have noticed a recent press release heralding the achievements of two StopTech equipped cars in this year’s One Lap of America. For those not familiar with it, OLA was started by in the 1970s by Brock Yates, senior editor of Car and Driver Magazine, as a cross country road rally. He went on to write the script for Cannonball Run based on his experiences, and the race continues every year, though its format has changed over the years. Now OLA consists of covering 5,000 miles in 8 days with stops at well known racetracks along the way for performance events such as time trials, races, and skid pads, where drivers earn points.

It’s hard enough on the drivers and vehicles covering the distance between the stops, but the need to perform strong at each one is of paramount performance in order to finish amongst the top teams. This year Active Autowerke claimed third place overall and first place with a BMW E46 M3 on StopTech brakes while Team Iron Butt placed 8th overall on StopTech brakes with an Audi S4. Both teams pointed to the brakes as a factor in their success.

“Active Autowerke just started working with StopTech after being in a long relationship with another company for many years. Active was a bit concerned about the brakes when entering the One Lap of America Race, but felt Active made a good decision,” admitted Mike Hugh, president of Active Autowerke. “Active’s intention or goal was not on placing well but on winning or a high podium placement. We were going into this venue to make a statement that the Active Autowerke system is proven, reliable and the only true choice for BMW M3 performance enthusiasts.”

When asked about how the brakes performed, Hugh beamed “The driver, Catesby Jones, said that the StopTech brakes worked really well enabling him to dive deep into the corners before applying the brakes. This enabled the Active BMW to make up time and help gain valuable points. Catesby said the brakes were not a concern and performed flawlessly.”

This was the first year that Team Iron Butt, which placed 8th overall out of over 60 teams, rolled with StopTech. “The brakes worked beautifully… especially at Daytona and Sebring, where the needle on the speedometer tends to drift into a range that’s seldom seen,” was the final feedback from team driver Michael Babcock.

Babcock knew his team had a new edge going into the event after some pre-race testing of the new StopTech brakes. “We spent the day at High Plains Raceway shaking down the car… today I’ll be having my eyeballs reinstalled back into my skull. Over the years, I’ve been conditioned to drop anchor at the 5 marker, and hope for the best. Now I’m into the 2’s… simply amazing!”

Babcock comments speak to what this blog and most drivers have been extolling for years. Being able to brake late in turns shaves valuable seconds in a race or time trial situation. For a tip on how to work that more to your advantage, take a look at this post from race car driver and StopTech CEO, Crescentini.

Congratulations to all the teams who embarked and completed the stellar challenge that was the 2009 One Lap of America. You can learn more about the race at http://www.onelapofamerica.com/.

Video Recap - Long Beach Grand Prix

posted by The Brake Room staff

Centric Parts has posted a video recap of what StopTech was up to at the 2009 Long Beach Grand Prix. You can watch it here or head on over to the Centric Video Vault to see it along with their other videos.



The Centric Video Vault launched late last year and includes a recap of SEMA/AAPEX 2008 and a sneak preview of the Trophy Big Brake Kit, the racing brake system from StopTech that's been making news and turning heads on the SCCA circuit.

Long Beach Grand Prix wrap up

posted by The Brake Room Staff

The Toyota Grand Prix returned the streets of Long Beach, California, for the 35th time last weekend. The Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach features four days of races, exhibitions and a lifestyle expo. StopTech, the ultra performance division of Centric Parts based in Southern California, had a presence throughout the weekend both on and off the track.

Perhaps the biggest highlight in four days full of many came during the last race of the weekend when James Sofronas took first place in the second stop of the 2009 SCCA SPEED GT World Challenge Racing Series. It was a victory he fully credited to the StopTech Trophy Big Brake Kit his No. 14 GMG Racing Porsche sported. The Trophy kits premiered at the first stop of the series in Sebring where StopTech CEO Dino Crescentini earned pole position by pulling the fastest qualifying lap in his Porsche.

The SCCA race wasn’t the only one with a winner’s circle represented by StopTech. The Pro/Celebrity Race held a day earlier on Saturday saw Hollywood superstar Keanu Reeves and racing legend Al Unser Jr. each win their category in race-ready Scion tCs with StopTech brakes. Of course, all racers were in identically equipped vehicles including Adrien Brody, Carlos Mencia, Alex Trebek and more., so the odds of a StopTech victory were guaranteed.

The Indy car-heavy weekend also brought a family of StopTech equipped vehicles back to Southern California. No, they don’t make brakes for Indy cars (yet) but the Delphi Safety Team that gets them out of trouble upgraded their two Honda Ridgelines and one Honda Pilot to StopTech’s. These heavy vehicles need to maneuver the racetrack at near racing speeds during yellow flags. The immediate feedback from one of the team leaders and driver was that the improvement was vast and very welcome.

StopTech also had a booth up at the Lifestyle expo featuring a pair of eye-popping racers including the StopTech Mitsubishi EVO X operated by the company’s head engineer, Stephen Ruiz, who also double duties for GMG Racing.

We were there with our video cameras and are putting together a reel for the video library.

For more info on the entire Long Beach Grand Prix, visit http://www.gplb.com/.

StopTech brings Stars to a Stop at the Toyota Pro/Celebrity Race

posted by The Brake Room staff

All of the identical race-ready Scion tCs in the Toyota Pro/Celebrity Race as part of the 35th Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach this weekend will feature brakes from StopTech. The race on April 18, 2009, entails a wide range of celebrity drivers raising funds for charity including Keanu Reeves, Adrien Brody, Alex Trebek, Carlos Mencia and more.

It’s the world’s longest-running and most prestigious celebrity racing event. The Toyota Pro/Celebrity Race pits popular personalities against professional racers for a 10-lap sprint around the 1.97-mile downtown Long Beach street circuit.

The Toyota Pro/Celebrity Race is just one of six races that are part of the 35th Annual Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach, which runs from April 16-19. Centric Parts CEO Dino Crescentini, which includes the StopTech brand, also drives for GMG Racing and will participate in the SCCA SPEED World Challenge Series race. That race is the final event of the weekend on the 19th. The weekend also includes two free concerts, lifestyle events and is open to the public. Visit http://www.lbgp.com/ for race weekend information.

Each Scion tC in the 2009 Toyota Pro/Celebrity Race will benefit from StopTech’s patented caliper bridge design along with two-piece rotors that make use of StopTech’s patented AeroHat and AeroRotor technologies. The rock solid calipers and dramatically increased cooling airflow provide shorter stopping distances, better brake modulation, and virtually eliminate brake fade.

This year’s field is comprised of 18 drivers including Hollywood superstar Keanu Reeves, Academy Award winner Adrien Brody, Raven-Symoné from “That’s So Raven” five-time Emmy award winning “Jeopardy!” host Alex Trebek, Mary Lynn Rajskub from the FOX television series “24,” Tim Daly from ABC’s “Private Practice,” Eric Close from “Without a Trace” on CBS, comedian Carlos Mencia, two-time Indianapolis 500 winner Al Unser, Jr., and more.

This year’s event will benefit Miller Children's Hospital at Long Beach Memorial Medical Center, California’s largest full-service children's hospital, and Children's Hospital of Orange County, which was the county’s first children’s hospital.

Race Report: StopTech CEO earns SCCA Pole Position

posted by The Brake Room Staff

Dino Crescentini, CEO of Centric Parts, which includes the StopTech ultra-performance division, earned pole position in Florida over for the 2009 season opener of the SCCA SPEED World Challenge Series before the weekend to be televised nationally later this month on SPEED Channel. The performance on the track was also the debut of the company's Trophy Big Brake Kits, designed exclusively for track use.

Crescentini races a Porsche 911 GT3 Cup for Global MotorSports Group (GMG) Racing in the SCCA Speed World Challenge Series, and has also brought the company’s Director of Engineering, Steve Ruiz, on as the team’s Head Engineer to enhance StopTech’s racing and development programs.

Crescentini pulled the fastest lap during the qualifying sessions at Sebring International Speedway on Thursday, March 19, to earn a pole position start for the race the next day. Crescentini held his pole position through the start of the race and remained a podium contender through the 15th lap of the 20 lap race. Contact with another vehicle after a yellow flag restart forced his vehicle into the pits on lap 16.

“Winning the qualifying round yesterday and earning pole position like we did validates the technical efforts GMG Racing and StopTech have put into the vehicle,” said Crescentini after the race “The fun part as a driver is facing all of the moment-to-moment challenges on a crowded track on race day shoulder to shoulder with racing professionals.”

Trophy BBKs, first announced late last year at the Performance Racing Industry show (watch video / see news item), feature ultra-lightweight racing calipers in four- or six-piston configurations providing a 20-percent weight reduction without sacrificing stiffness or performance. Full floating versions of StopTech’s patented AeroRotor/AeroHat two-piece rotors eliminate pad knock-back and increase cooling airflow by 15% for consistent performance and pedal feedback under the unique combination of hard cornering and braking found on the track. These BBKs sport a “natural” finish for an attractive in-wheel presentation and also include billet aluminum mounting brackets with stainless steel caliper studs and DOT-compliant stainless steel braided brake lines. Trophy BBKs make no compromises found on hybrid systems designed for both street and track.

The next race up for Crescentinti will be in Long Beach on April 19th as part of the weekend long Toyota Long Beach Grand Prix. The Brake Room will be there with with exclusive behind the scenes coverage. Also keep an eye out in the next week or so for some in-car footage of his pole position earning performance.